(video of him signing at bottom of text)

Al Pacino

Painted in September 2008

Acrylic on canvas - 30 inch x 24 inch

Sold to a client in Singapore

Autographed by Al in September 2008

I met Al Pacino at the premiere of his film 'Righteous Kill' in London, September 2008.

As an actor myself, I consider Al Pacino to be the greatest film actor of all time, and a great inspiration to me when I am learning a role, watching his performances are an education to me. I never imagined in my life I would ever met him, even for a second. So, when I heard he would be appearing at this premiere, it was a very rare and special opportunity to meet someone I admire so much.

He was also appearing with Robert De Niro at the premiere, another of the greatest film actors ever. So I painted a portrait of each of them.

Both portraits involved over 30 hours of highly concentrated work, studying photographs and building up the detail carefully, perfecting an authentic representation of the actors, bringing their character to life through the paint.

The big day arrived and I took them both to the premiere in my art case. Not knowing if I would even get a signature on either of them.

I left home around 6am and travelled from Dorset up to London, arriving at Leicester Square at 11am.

A local TV station were filming the event and their reporter interviewed me about my portraits (see photos below left).

I waited with the crowd for 6 hours, and at 5pm Al Pacino arrived and the hundreds of fans there were calling for his autograph.

I held my painting out over the barrier, and with a camera hung around my chest and rolling, hoping to film the moment, he walked directly over to me!

He gave a wonderful reaction to my painting, he didn’t speak, but raised his eyebrows in surprise and kindly signed it.

Then, as he was leaving, he looked me in the eye and gave me an approving nod.

It was a moment to treasure.

Sometimes the briefest moments are as special as the long ones!

Below is the film Al Pacino signing the portrait